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Place dossier plate
SheetIA-ASBURY-IA · Asbury, IA 5,949 pop · income 90th pct
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Asbury
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Asbury on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Oelwein · lowest
49,821
Oelwein · lowest
49,821 median HH income
20.7% of the leader · rank #1
Nashport · near
130,057
Nashport · near
130,057 median HH income
54.1% of the leader · rank #2
Carle Place · near
130,063
Carle Place · near
130,063 median HH income
54.1% of the leader · rank #3
Asbury · this city
130,071
Asbury · this city
130,071 median HH income
54.1% of the leader · rank #4
Gallina · near
130,071
Gallina · near
130,071 median HH income
54.1% of the leader · rank #5
Woodbury Heig… · near
130,101
Woodbury Heig… · near
130,101 median HH income
54.2% of the leader · rank #6
Fulton · highest
240,219
Fulton · highest
240,219 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income, and FBI crime rate
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Asbury on ACS population and median household income
, plus FBI UCR reporting rate when the extract covers this place. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 5,949.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Asbury - the verdict
Out of every US city with 1,000+ residents, Asbury places in the 90th percentile for household income and the 96th percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
90th
percentile, household income
67th
percentile, home value
11th
percentile, median rent
96th
percentile, safety
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Asbury, IA
Census ACS 2023 estimates count 5,949 residents in Asbury, a small town within Iowa. Households in Asbury report a median income of $130,071 per year, placing it in the top quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 5.1%. Asbury's housing stock carries a median value of $312,400, and the median resident age is 37.3 years. About 51.3% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 70.3% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
In 2024, 12 residential building permits were authorized in Asbury (Construction Slowdown), down 62% from five years earlier, per Census BPS data. Asbury reports a comparatively low crime rate: FBI UCR figures show 199.3 crimes per 100,000 residents, below the national average (reporting is voluntary across agencies, so treat this as reporting activity rather than a definitive danger score).
Living costs in Iowa run below the national norm: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 puts Iowa at 87.8 on a 100-equals-national-average scale (Well Below Average). A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $989 per month statewide. Monthly utility costs average around $212 across Iowa, per EIA 2023 residential energy estimates. On FEMA's National Risk Index, this area rates 39.7 out of 100 for natural-hazard exposure (Very Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Asbury's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from work and mobility to reported crime to population change to comparison shortlist to housing and income; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Asbury, city-specific coverage includes FBI reported-crime rates, commute-mode shares, local building permits, annual population history.
No matched row is reported here for matched public-school count, within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
Question 1
What does the journey to work look like in Asbury?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 87.6%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. The profile is strongly car-oriented, so a relocation comparison should put trip distance, vehicle access, and household fuel costs ahead of a citywide commute average. The same-state peer links offer a more relevant benchmark than a national label.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Asbury?
The joined FBI UCR record reports 199.3 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 91% lower in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Treat this as a reporting-rate comparison, not a prediction of personal risk or a neighborhood-level safety grade. Tourism, daytime population, reporting practices, and variation inside the city are not adjusted away. The state rank and same-state peer table are the narrower comparisons available on this page.
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +76 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +1.3% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 12 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Recent estimates point upward. Growth can increase housing demand and service needs, but the permit record must move in the same direction before calling it a supply response; the two series measure different things.
Which cities make useful reference points for Asbury?
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
Within Iowa, the closest population matches are Oelwein (5,878 residents, $49,821 income); Estherville (5,865 residents, $54,624 income); Polk City (5,833 residents, $163,000 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Belding, MI (5,949 residents); Doney Park, AZ (5,947 residents); Lucerne Valley, CA (5,946 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Housing and income
How far does income reach against housing in Asbury?
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. The ratio makes housing the clearest place to start this profile, but a low multiple can coexist with slow demand, older stock, or household-level hardship. Compare the home-value distribution and same-state peer table before treating it as an advantage.
The home-value-to-income reference is relatively compact: the ACS median home value is 2.4 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 5.1%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Value / income
2.4×
Home value
$312,400
Household income
$130,071
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
Top-decile income · poverty 5.1% (Below-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
87.8 (US=100)
Very affordable · BEA RPP 2024, Iowa average
A-
City profile score · Asbury, IA
81/100
5 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Cost of living A+
87.8 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Household income A+
$130,071
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Bachelor's+ share A
51.3%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Violent crime B
100 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Poverty rate B-
5.1%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Asbury profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 94/100 (A+) · 87.8 index
Household income: 90/100 (A+) · $130,071
Bachelor's+ share: 85/100 (A) · 51.3%
Violent crime: 71/100 (B) · 100 /100k
Poverty rate: 65/100 (B-) · 5.1%
Where Asbury sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Asbury's median home value and FBI crime rate plotted with similar-size and
same-state peers (padded with large cities when the peer set is thin). The second
read: pricey does not always mean safer, check which quadrant this city lands in.
Census ACS median home value vs FBI UCR crime rate - Asbury highlighted among 8 peers.Read the chart values
Asbury, IA (this city): home $312,400, crime 199/100k
Belding, MI : home $152,700, crime 953/100k
Oelwein, IA : home $96,800, crime 765/100k
Estherville, IA : home $96,300, crime 585/100k
Polk City, IA : home $385,000, crime 320/100k
Maquoketa, IA : home $126,800, crime 2,239/100k
Independence, IA : home $156,900, crime 820/100k
Adel, IA : home $320,500, crime 715/100k
How does Asbury compare to other US cities?
Here's how Asbury stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income90% higher than other cities
Home value67% pricier than other cities
Median rent11% pricier than other cities
Safety96% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
National percentiles can mask local variation. Looking only at Iowa, Asbury ranks #12 of 141 Iowa cities by lowest crime rate - a narrower, more locally useful cut than the national comparison above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Asbury against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Iowa only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Iowa-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Asbury near the bottom of Iowa's cities
Among the 858 Iowa cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Asbury ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Asbury only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#10 of 845
99th percentile in Iowa
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 858
0th percentile in Iowa
Median Home Value
#26 of 849
97th percentile in Iowa
Poverty Rate
#475 of 858
44th percentile in Iowa
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#29 of 858
97th percentile in Iowa
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Iowa only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
90th percentile nationally for median household income · 96th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Asbury's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Asbury's percentile rank on 3 favorable-direction measures (income, affordability, safety) vs. every tracked US city -- higher on every axis is more favorable. Not a composite quality score, just the arithmetic mean of the axes shown.
How Asbury's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$312,40033rd percentilemore affordable than 33% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Asbury's home-value-to-income ratio: 2.4×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#3,493 of 15,516
More affordable than 77% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#3,183 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 2.4×, Asbury sits in the affordable band:
national rank #3,493 of 15,516 and #3,183 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
The multiple is comparatively compact among tracked cities, but a low ratio can still coexist with slow demand or household-level hardship.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$130,071Asbury, IA median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Asbury, IA median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Asbury, IA.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)51.3%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)5.1%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)70.3%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
5,949
Median Income
$130,071
Median Home Value
$312,400
Median Age
37.3
Poverty Rate
5.1%
Labor force participation
70.3%
Bachelor's Degree+
51.3%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
199.3
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
99.6
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
99.6
per 100,000 residents
Crime reporting caveat
Reflects incidents reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program — agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies by jurisdiction and year, so this reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score. Not adjusted for tourism, commuter, or daytime population.
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Asbury's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
5,959 residents
2021
5,980 residents
2022
5,971 residents
2023
6,004 residents
2024
6,040 residents
2025
6,035 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📉 Construction Slowdown
Total Permits (2024)
12
housing units authorized
Single-Family
10
detached homes
Multifamily
2
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
2
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
32
18
14
$5.9M
2020
33
25
8
$6.7M
2021
30
22
8
$5.9M
2022
16
14
2
$6.8M
2023
19
11
8
$8.1M
2024
12
10
2
$8.2M
Permit volume decreased 62% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
87.6%
Carpool
2.2%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
0.3%
Work from Home
9.8%
Based on 3,030 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Iowa statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $212
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Iowa at $212 (electricity about $95 , water and sewer about $42 ).
These are Iowa statewide averages, not a meter reading for Asbury. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Iowa's BEA cost-of-living index is 87.8 (Well Below Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Asbury is $989/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Iowa statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 39.7 / 100 (Very Low).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Iowa statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Asbury sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Asbury compares to similar-size Iowa cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, FBI UCR, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.